Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was down 2.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $557.16 and last traded at $579.43. Approximately 8,150,216 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 8,328,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $595.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $531.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.2% in the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.